Kiss in the Rain
by FangZeronos
Summary: Keith and Acxa talk during a rainstorm


It'd been a week since the death of Sendak and the new Robeast arriving, and things around the Garrison had started settling down until the Coalition and other species started arriving on Earth. The amount of surprise around the Garrison at the different races and cultures made the administration happy and nervous at the same time, despite the Paladins and Coran assuring everyone that the newcomers were friendly.

Keith sighed as he stood at the edge of the boundaries for the Garrison, leaning against a wall and folding his arms as he watched rainclouds in the distance, still too far away to hear the thunder but close enough to heighten his anticipation of the rain. He ran his hands in his hair and messed it up, snickering as he imagined Krolia's reaction.

" _Really? Again?" she'd ask before running her hands in his hair and straightening it back out, laughing at the indignation on her son's face. She'd stopped and wrapped her arm around his shoulders, kissing his head._

He smiled softly, his eyes never leaving the rainclouds. He heard someone behind him, turning a bit and seeing Acxa walk up. "Hey," he said.

"Hi," Acxa said, leaning against Keith. "Lance and Krolia said you'd be out here." She looked out at the horizon, her eyes on the clouds as she narrowed her eyes. "It's going to storm."

"Yep. I can't wait. I haven't seen a good rainstorm since before we left Earth in Blue," Keith said. "God…that's been a long time."

Acxa nodded softly, folding her arms. "When I was a little kid, the rain always signaled the start of the hard part of the calendar," she said. "Four phoebs a deca-phoeb, it rained nonstop. It'd let off for three quintants and then back on. Couldn't go outside, couldn't open a window. My family would start going stir-crazy after three movements of the rain. I don't like it after all those deca-phoebs."

Keith looked at Acxa as she spoke, and he put his hand on her arm. "It won't rain for that long here," he said. "A few hours, some of the larger storms last two or three days. It'll be over before you know it."

A clap of thunder rang out as a lightning bolt flew across the sky, Acxa jumping and sighing as she heard Keith snickering. "It isn't funny," she said, hitting him in the chest before crossing her arms.

"A little," Keith said. He stretched and rubbed his eyes, running his hand in his hair again. "So, did you ever find out what happened to Ezor and Zethrid after the cruiser exploded?"

Acxa sighed. "Ezor survived, lost her other leg and her right hand. Zethrid…tried to shield her from the blast," she said. "She didn't make it. I found Ezor on a moon near where they were, her other leg gone from the blast. She said that…without Zethrid, or Lotor, she didn't know what to do. I offered a chance to help me, but she refused. I took her to a medical facility near Olkarion, and that was the last I saw of her."

Keith nodded, the thunder getting closer. He looked out at the rain and sighed, rubbing his arms. "I'm sorry, Acxa," he said.

"It isn't your fault," Acxa said with a shake of her head as she pulled away from Keith. "I couldn't keep my friends together. I watched that bastard kill Narti, we blew up Zethrid and Ezor. I…I guess it's my fault nothing goes right." She wrapped her arms around herself, looking out at the storm. "Maybe this is my punishment. All my friends die or the people I love leave me in some way."

Keith bit his lip, looking down. "I used to think the same thing," he said. "Growing up without my mom around, only my Blade of Marmora dagger as the sole reminder of her, my dad died when I was a little kid. Made do where I could, but then a guy gave me a chance. It led me to a Blue Lion, a Castle in space, and one of the strongest women I could ever hope to meet. I'm not going to leave you."

Acxa looked at Keith and shook her head. "You can't know that. Everyone leaves eventually, Keith. My Galra side is more dominant, and your human side's the dominant one. What'll happen when you die like everyone else? What if I get too attached and I lose you again? I lost three deca-phoebs thinking you were dead after that fight with Lotor, I don't think I could—"

Keith put his fingers on Acxa's lips. "Stop worrying about the future. It'll happen as it happens. We can't worry about the future and forget what's in front of us."

"What are you saying?" Acxa asked. "Keith, you know Zethrid and Ezor were only saying what they did to get a rise out of us in that fight." She knew in her heart that what she was saying was the right thing since she didn't know what Keith felt despite the reaction he'd given.

" _Look, Acxa. It's your favorite Paladin!" Ezor giggled._

" _Remember how she never wanted to kill him?" Zethrid asked. "Do you even know each other?"_

" _She's always been sweet on the one with the flippity hair," Ezor said. "Maybe it is true love."  
_

" _Can we just fight?!" Keith snarled as his Bayard turned into a sword and he rushed forward._

"It worked, but for the wrong reasons," Keith said. The storm was getting closer, lightning crackling and thunder resonating off of the canyons in the distance. He figured about five minutes before it started pouring down on their heads.

"What are you talking about?" Acxa asked. She looked at Keith before glancing back at the approaching rainclouds, biting her lip nervously as the thunder got louder. "Keith?"

"Since I found you in the Weblum, and every time we've fought and come to a standstill, something about you made me stop and think," Keith said. "We were always too evenly matched, too fast and strong to kill the other. It was more sparring then fighting, wasn't it? A challenge to see who'd break first. Then you saved my life at the Kral Zera, and…the look we gave each other, it was more than respect, Acxa."

"And then every time Lotor would send us to fight you, I couldn't do it," Acxa said. "It's why I started fighting the others and leaving one of the girls to fight to you. I couldn't look you in the eyes and try and kill you, because the thundering in my chest wouldn't let me do it without feeling something _wrong_."

The thunder clashed overhead, Acxa jumping and narrowing her eyes. Keith chuckled, shaking his head as the first few drops started to come down. After a minute, it started pouring, Acxa's snarl of hate and disappointment ringing out over the thunder. Keith laughed and took Acxa's hands, keeping her from running.

"I'm going inside," Acxa growled. "Let me go, Keith."

"You're cute when you're mad," Keith said, the words out of his mouth before he could stop them. He blinked and dropped Acxa's hands, backing up and slipping in a puddle, laughing as he landed on the ground. "Damn."

Acxa couldn't stop it. She started laughing, watching Keith hit the ground and the puddle splash up onto him. She pushed her wet hair out of her face and looked down at him with a bemused smirk, rolling her eyes. She held her hand out and helped Keith up, pushing his hair out of his eyes. "You're an idiot," she said.

"So?" Keith asked with a smirk.

"I'm going inside," Acxa said. "Before I get sick and die."

"So dramatic," Keith said, pushing Acxa playfully and smirking.

Acxa rolled her eyes again. She looked between the Garrison and Keith, grinning like her hand had been caught in the cookie jar.

"Oh, no. What are you thinking?" Keith asked.

"Catch me if you can," Acxa smirked, pushing Keith backwards and taking off at a hard run, heading for the door to the Garrison. She laughed as she ran, glancing to her side and seeing Keith was keeping up with her.

Keith laughed, the thunder and lightning lighting up their race. He looked at Acxa and grinned, lunging and tackling her into the ground, landing in a bigger puddle that soaked the two of them down. "I win," he said, looking down at her and grinning.

"You cheated," Acxa panted, looking up at Keith and seeing a fire blazing in his eyes. She felt his hands on her waist, feeling like she was on fire from his touch.

"How could I cheat on a race with no rules?" Keith asked, standing up and helping Acxa up. "All you said was "Catch me if you can" before you took off. I thought I could do that."

"Still cheated," Acxa smirked, jumping when the loudest thunderclap rang out overhead, having pressed herself against Keith. She felt his arms around her waist, and she found herself pulling closer to him, resting her head against his neck and feeling his pulse against her cheek. "What are we doing?"

"Right now, standing in the rain," Keith said, laughing softly when Acxa bit his shoulder. "I don't know, Acxa. We keep pussyfooting around and we don't confront our feelings, something's going to happen and one of us will get hurt if we're not careful."

"Damn being careful," Acxa whispered, looking out at the rain-soaked pavement and vehicles. "I don't want to be careful. I want to throw caution into the wind and do what I want for a change without it blowing up in my face…"

"Then do it," Keith said, rubbing Acxa's back and only making the rain caught in her clothes drip down, feeling her shiver against him. "DO what makes you happy for once."

Acxa nodded, biting her lip before she put her hands against Keith's cheeks and kissed him, pulling herself closer to him as her arms looped around his neck, feeling his arms slid to her waist. She sighed against his lips, running her hands into his rain-soaked hair. She nipped Keith's lip, feeling his tongue slide against her lips before she opened her mouth and let him in, feeling him tighten his grip around her.

After a minute, Keith pulled back when the need to breathe became too strong, and he smiled softly, licking his lips. "Mmm…I can get used to that," he said.

Acxa smiled, running her hands in Keith's hair. "So could I," she whispered.

Both of them jumped when the door behind them burst open, Krolia and Allura standing there looking at the two.

"There you are," Krolia said. "Get inside so you don't get sick. I thought you were smarter than this, Keith?" 

Allura smiled, seeing the nervous way that Keith and Acxa were avoiding looking at them. "Krolia, I believe we may have interrupted something."

Krolia blinked. "Oh…I suppose we have," she said. She smiled sheepishly, chuckling a bit as she started to back up. "Don't, uh…don't stay out here too long. Don't need either of you getting sick." Allura grabbed Krolia's arm and pulled her back through the door, leaving the two standing alone in the rain again.

"Damn," Acxa snickered.

Keith laughed, shaking his head and letting his bangs fall in his face. "Let's get inside and get dried off. My room's down the hall. You can stay the night if you want. That way you're not tracking water throughout the Garrison."

Acxa smiled. "I'd like that," she said.

One last loud clap of thunder overhead as the door to the Garrison shut, leaving Acxa and Keith in each other's company for the rest of the night, hopefully to wait out the storm and decide what they were the next morning.


End file.
